


Five Times Neil Had Adam's Back

by rockinhamburger



Category: American Idol RPF, Glam Rock RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-16
Updated: 2010-10-16
Packaged: 2017-10-12 17:39:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/127346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockinhamburger/pseuds/rockinhamburger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What the title says.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Neil Had Adam's Back

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by fobobsessed54 at Livejournal.
> 
>  
> 
> (Warning for offensive, homophobic language.)

Whenever anyone asks, Neil says he's pretty well always known that Adam was gay.

In truth, he figured it out a couple weeks after Adam's 14th birthday. Adam had coerced Neil into watching some movie -- a movie Neil hadn't been paying much attention to. It had hit him about halfway through.

Adam likes guys.

He couldn't have said where the realization had come from. There wasn't anything Adam said or did to give it away. It wasn't like Adam ran around going, "Gay boy over here!" He didn't act like he was hiding some huge secret, either; mostly he just acted like a jackass at every opportunity.

It did not occur to him, at that point, that he might at some point have to come to bat for his annoying big brother.

\---

There was something about Rob that rubbed Neil the wrong way, but he had awesome video games that they played when Neil went over to Rob's house.

Rob was in 8th Grade, a year above Neil. They'd met during detention after school. Neil had only been given detention because he'd asked Ms Laney, his english teacher, the completely legitimate question, "Why do we have to read a whole book about some stupid kid running around New York for three days, paying for prostitutes and getting into fights? This is classic literature?"

She'd given him detention for "asking questions that don't pertain to the curriculum."

Well, was it Neil's fault she'd asked what he'd thought of Catcher in the Rye and he wasn't in the habit of lying? Apparently so.

Rob came over the following weekend armed with a bunch of video games for them to play, and when he got there Adam was already using the television to watch a movie.

Neil decided to take the nice approach. "Hey Adam? Can Rob and I use the tv for a few hours?"

Adam took a few moments to reply because he was so engrossed in what he was watching. He looked first at Neil, and then he fixed his gaze on all 5'8 inches of Rob. Neil could tell Adam was contemplating saying no, but then he nodded. "Sure."

He got up and moved to turn the movie off while Neil said, "Thanks, man."

"No problem," Adam replied, picking up the empty bowl on the table beside the couch and moving toward the door. He turned back around before he left to add, "Mom said there's some pizza in the freezer, if you guys want any later."

"Thanks," Neil said, smiling pleasantly. On rare occasions like this one, Adam could be a really nice brother.

"Have fun," Adam called as he left the room.

"That your brother?" Rob asked once Adam had gone upstairs.

"Mhmm," Neil said absently, putting one of the games on, bringing the two controllers over to the couch and handing one to Rob.

"Was he watching Grease?" Rob asked, smirking.

Neil froze in his reach for the television remote. Was that mocking in Rob's tone? Or was Neil reading too much into it?

"He sings," Neil explained, trying not to sound defensive. "He watches musicals... you know, for research."

"Research, huh?" Rob said skeptically. Neil bristled at Rob's tone, but Rob was already selecting the details of the game they were about to play.

They played video games for the next couple hours until Adam came back downstairs and into the living room, and asked, "You guys hungry? I could start the pizza if you want..."

"Sure," said Neil. "Thanks."

Adam nodded and retreated to the kitchen.

Neil got distracted by the game for a few minutes. He was jolted out of it when Rob muttered quietly, almost under his breath, "Hey, is your brother a homo or something?"

Neil actually dropped the controller onto the floor. "What?" he said hollowly. He shouldn't have said that, though, because he didn't actually want Rob to repeat the question.

"Is he a fag? He talks like one."

Neil felt something strange happen to his body. He could hear his rapid heartbeat pounding in his ears, and a white hot anger rippled through him. He stood up.

"You need to leave," Neil said shortly.

Rob looked surprised for about three seconds, and then he started to look pissed off. "What the fuck, dude? I'm just asking a question, you don't have to get all pissy."

"I'll get pissy if I want, dude," Neil deadpanned. "Now take your shit and get lost."

Rob stood up and threw the controller onto the couch. "Fuck you," he spat. He gathered up his things and turned away.

"And don't talk to me at school, asshole," Neil added as an afterthought, following Rob to the door.

"I wouldn't talk to a fag like you anyway," Rob shot back.

"Good. 'Cause I don't talk to douchebags."

Then he shut the door in Rob's ugly face and went to eat pizza with his brother.

*

Neil stared at his computer with that familiar feeling of seething anger working its way through him.

This homophobe thinks she can blame Adam for America's problems? Oh, fuck no.

Neil opened up a blank document, cracked his knuckles and started typing.

'Dear Peggy Noonan...'

*

Neil was at a party of an acquaintance from school when he found himself seated with a group of people he wasn't too familiar with.

"Doesn't matter to me if gay people want to get married. Long as they don't hit on me I don't care," said a guy Neil had just met, Jeff or Jack. Maybe John.

"Like any gay guy would want to hit on you," joked Shaunna, a friend from Neil's Poli Sci class.

A guy Neil didn't know snorted. "I don't get why those people want to get married anyway. It's not like they can have children."

Neil was speaking before he even realized it. "Hey, my brother is one of 'those people'. So have a little respect."

Neil's admonishment left an awkward silence in its wake, but the douchebag's shamed expression was worth every syllable.

*

"So, Neil, what do you think about your brother's decision to adopt? It's been met with some criticism from the Religious Right."

Neil started a bit at the non-sequitur, but recovered quickly. "I'm not sure what this has to do with my book, but since you asked... My brother is one of the kindest, most nurturing, compassionate people I know. He'll be a damn good father. The Religious Right can go fuck themselves."

The quote hit all the major news outlets in the country, and some international ones too. When his book reached No. 1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list, Neil couldn't help but wonder if his usual brand of honest commentary might have had something to do with it.

*

"It's so much fun, Neil, you gotta travel someday. Seriously, it's been so educational. Way more than my university classes would have been."

Neil switched his phone from his right shoulder to his left and bent down to pull a folder from a drawer in his desk. "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"You sound distracted. Should I let you go?"

Neil dropped the folder onto his desk and shook his head. "No, sorry. Just thinking about this essay I have to finish for tomorrow. So, how're the people you're working with?"

"They're all right I guess," he said. "They didn't really like me at first, but now that they've seen me in action they've let up a bit. Probably surprised the resident fag might be worth their attention after all."

Neil cringed on reflex. "Adam, don't call yourself that."

"It's just a word. Besides, I am a fag. I can own it."

"No, you're not. That's the word homophobes use to try and diminish you because they're scared. You shouldn't lie down and take it."

Adam clucked his tongue over the phone. "I'm not. I'm just taking ownership of the word so it doesn't have power over me."

"That's the biggest piece of bullshit I've ever heard. Don't be your own enemy. You're not a fag, you're Adam."

There was a significant pause on Adam's end, and then Adam said, with an intensity that was a little embarrassing, "Jesus, Neil." Tearfully, he added, "That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Neil couldn't think of anything to say. He stared at the spider crawling along the wall of his bedroom.

When Adam continued he sounded normal again. "Hey, are you getting soft in your old age? Where's that negativity I know so well?"

Neil grinned at the spider, at Adam, at the world. "It's still there. Just melts away a when someone insults my brother." Neil waited a beat, then added, "No homo."

Adam's laughter would always be a good sound. And no matter how stressed out he might be over papers or assignments, Neil will always have time for his big brother.

Even if he is a jackass.


End file.
